'Multiple groups may be joining ISIS jihadists in fight against Iraqi govt'

The relative ease with which insurgents have taken control of major cities in Iraq suggests former military officers and others may have joined forces with jihadists to target Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki's Shiite-led government, Edmund Ghareeb told RT.

"What also makes
this interesting and what raises a lot of questions about what's
going on is that there are many forces fighting under the name of
ISIS (the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant)," said
Ghareeb, a professor at American University, adding that the many
groups have a common enemy in Maliki.

He added that there could be "Iraqi officers, who are from
Saddam Hussein's army, who come from the Tikrit area and the
Mosul area, and probably that explains [how] military tactics
were used, because these were very effective. There was
professional planning here."

RT:Is it fair to say, as President Barack
Obama has said, that Iraq is solely responsible for its own
security situation?

Edmund Ghareeb: Clearly what's going on in Iraq
was a surprise to the [Obama] administration, as I'm sure that,
probably, it was a surprise to the Iraqi government as well. The
rapidity with which these forces are able to advance and take
over a city like Mosul raises a lot of questions about the Iraqi
army, which was trained, supposedly, by the United States. They,
of course, didn't have very sophisticated weapons in terms of
airplanes or missiles. But this is an army where $25 billion was
spent to help prepare it for future duties, to help protect
Iraq's government, and the population of Iraq.

But I think what is happening here is that this all raises
questions about the way the US government is looking at this
situation, and, of course, the president still has his perception
of his own legacy. President Obama, when he was a candidate for
the presidency, promised to get out of Iraq. He does not want to
return to Iraq. At the same time, this is a complex and difficult
situation, and he cannot remain totally out of touch with this
situation. That's why we're seeing this response, this careful
evaluation of what the US could do or should do. On the other
hand, the president has taken into account the political
realities on the ground.

RT:If the Iraqi army is left to their own
devices, can they really defend Iraq from this onslaught?

EG: On the one hand, you have an army that has
somewhere between 250,000 and 300,000 men. You have security
forces that are close to 900,000. So that should be sufficient to
protect Baghdad and to protect some of the cities, even against
the onslaught of several thousand or hundred, in some cases,
fighters.

Of course the Islamic state of Iraq and the Levant (ISIS) is
experienced, it's composed of many hardened fighters. What also
makes this interesting and what raises a lot of questions about
what's going on is that there are many forces fighting under the
name of ISIS. What we are seeing is that the fighters are
fighting under the banner of ISIS, and at the same time, it seems
there are other groups. You have the forces of the former vice
president of Iraq, Izzat Ibrahim al-Douri, who is of the
Naqshbandi, the Sufi order. You have Iraqi officers who are from
Saddam Hussein's army, who come from the Tikrit area and the
Mosul area, and probably that explains [how] military tactics
were used, because these were very effective. There was
professional planning here. Also, the Baathists, the former
Baathists, may also have been involved, as well as the tribes.
These people have a common stand against Prime Minister Maliki.
They're all opposed to Maliki. At the same time, I don't think
these groups have the same objectives. For example, ISIS wants to
have an Islamic caliphate. I don't think this is necessarily
shared by some of the Sufi groups, and it wouldn't be shared by
the former Iraqi army officers, or the Baath Party. Nevertheless,
right now, they may be working together against Maliki.

As for the situation also going down in Baghdad, I don't think it
will be easy for this force to take over Baghdad, particularly if
there is a defense. The demography of Baghdad was changed over
the past several years, and it is mostly a Shiite majority city.
At the same time, there are professional and elite forces which
are defending Baghdad, so it won't be easy. Nevertheless, the
fact is these forces are moving. They've taken Mosul and,
reportedly, Tikrit – though there is a question about parts of it
– and Baiji, which is a very important town where you have oil
facilities there. They are taking the cities, and that's
significant.